Move-Out Cleaning Checklist to Get Your Deposit Back
5 min read
Your security deposit comes down to one walkthrough. Landlords and property managers check the same specific things every time — and they're exactly the spots renters forget. Here's the room-by-room checklist to pass that walkthrough and get your full deposit back.
The full move-out checklist
Work through the whole home in this order, leaving the floors for last:
- Inside all cabinets and drawers
- Inside oven and refrigerator/freezer
- Inside and outside of all appliances
- Baseboards, doors, and trim
- Interior windows, tracks, and sills
- All light fixtures and ceiling fans
- Deep clean all bathrooms
- Wipe walls / spot-clean marks
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop all floors
- Closets and shelving wiped out
The spots that cost renters their deposit
These are the places inspectors always check and renters almost always miss:
- Inside the oven, and the broiler drawer
- Refrigerator and freezer interiors (defrosted and wiped)
- Inside all cabinets and drawers, including the crumbs in the corners
- Baseboards, door frames, and switch plates
- Window tracks and blinds
- Exhaust fans and light fixtures (and their bugs)
Do it yourself or hire it out?
A move-out clean is a full day of work if you do it right, on top of an already-exhausting move. If your time is worth more than the cost of the clean — or the risk of losing part of your deposit is real — a professional move-out clean usually pays for itself. Either way, use this checklist as your final walkthrough before handing over the keys.
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